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The Golden Bachelor searches for its leading man … and a stack of older ladies

The spot for <i>The Golden Bachelor</i> host has been filled by Samantha Armytage, but who will be  our inaugural Aussie Golden bachelor?

The spot for The Golden Bachelor host has been filled by Samantha Armytage, but who will be our inaugural Aussie Golden bachelor? Photo: Nine

Former Sunrise host Samantha Armytage has been confirmed to host Nine’s new show The Golden Bachelor, but the reality series still has a few major roles to fill.

The bachelor and all the women needed for the series are yet to be found, but there’s one well-known Australian businessman touted as a leading contender for the gig.

“We are looking for Australia’s first Golden Bachelor and many incredible women who want to find love again,” reads the official casting website where potentials can lodge an application.

Nine are looking for people aged between 60 and 75 years old, who are “looking for the last great love” of their life, live in Australia and are obviously single.

“Do you know someone in their golden years who deserves one more shot at their happily ever after?” the notice reads.

Potential candidate

“Mark Bouris is being touted as their guy,” TV Blackbox expert Steve Molk said.

He says it’s not uncommon for a network – especially when picking up an existing format like this – to create buzz with the announcement “in the hope it will help shake the trees for prospective applicants to flock and submit their audition”.

Although it’s “connected to a heritage brand” – the first season of The Golden Bachelor US averaged 9.92 million multi-platform views – the Aussie version is “untested”.

“We know what The Bachelor looks like (and can see what the Golden Bachie looks like from the US) but don’t know what it will be for us … so apply,” he said.

It also comes down to the schedule, says Molk, adding Nine has not committed to a broadcast date, though it’s likely to be mid-year.

“This gives them time to cast and film while still showing partners why they would want to drop their cash with Nine.

“Big new things often come with the series filmed or almost done.

“Stuff like this – where the announcement is “look what we got and who is hosting it” really is the news … unless they pick up a named Golden Bachie.”

stephanie rice

Stephanie Rice with The Celebrity Apprentice host Mark Bouris in 2016. Photo: AAP

‘Golden love’

Bouris, 68, the Straight Talk podcaster and former host of Nine’s The Celebrity Apprentice could find time to rejoin the network.

It’s whether he wants to be part of a dating show to find his “happily ever after”.

Now one of the most successful businessmen in Australia, and chairman of Yellow Brick Road, Bouris spoke about his success, family life and four sons in a Life Uncut podcast last year.

He’d sold Wizard Home Loans, which he created in 1996, to General Electric for $500 million, but he candidly admits the success also resulted in him getting divorced.

“The effort that I put into that [business] unwittingly, I didn’t realise what you’ve got to do to keep a relationship,” Bouris said.

“A lot of the success came as a result of what I sacrificed … but I sacrificed a long-term marriage.”

In 2018, in a cover story for Stellar magazine, he was asked if he still found time for romance.

“Yes,” he said with a wry smile.

“I date … but I don’t talk about my private life.”

‘Golden touch’

Nine says Armytage, who married Richard Lavender, 61, in a low-key ceremony on New Year’s Eve in 2020, is bringing her golden touch as host “in the search for golden love”.

She says the show has “got a different spin”.

“One charming Golden Bachelor embarks on a heartfelt journey to find a soulmate, with Sam guiding him every step of the way as he seeks a partner who can share the joys and adventures of life’s later chapters,” the official synopsis reads.

“This is for people who are looking for love again, who’ve got some miles on their tyres and are ready to fall in love again,” she told Nine’s Today on October 29.

“These are people with life experience. There’s going to be some great stories here, some kind of sad stories in some.

“We’re looking for a happy fairytale ending.”

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